We all aspire to reach our goals and ambitions. Sometimes, we strive towards them so much that we start to deviate further away from reality. The ultimate result of such excessive ambition is a consequence that can’t be altered.
The same happened in the case of a young man called Icarus. When his father made him a pair of wings to escape from the tower, he became too confident with himself and flew too close to the sun. The wings were made of simple beeswax and ultimately melted because of the sunray. Icarus met his death in the most tragic way imaginable.
The Icarus tattoo represents the notion of such obsession and hubris in a highly stylized manner. The symbolic tattoo depicts the entire scenario with intricate textures and colors. So without further ado, let's dive deep into the world of Icarus tattoos to find out everything about them.
Enchanting Icarus Tattoo Designs To Go On An Adventure
Three elements make up most of the Icarus tattoo and they are Icarus himself, the sun, and the ocean. Tattooists don’t just blandly illustrate the ocean. They highly stylized the curves with a plethora of colors as if the rainbow had risen in the deep blue sea.
The wings of Icarus are highly detailed so you can notice each of the feathers protruding from the wings. You can even see the lump of flesh in the shoulder area from where the wings were attached.
Seeing the tattoos will instantly make your mind go back to the place and time where the tragedy took place. You can even see Icarus slowly falling into the ocean. That’s how amazing the Icarus tattoo designs are.
Fall Of Icarus Tattoo
The tale of Icarus is full of woes and sadness. The son of Daedalus was too ambitious. When his father, who is a master craftsman, instructed him not to fly too close to the sun, he disobeyed Daedalus.
With his wings, Icarus thought he could fly much more swiftly and reach a safe destination much faster. However, he forgot that his wings were made of beeswax. As soon as he got too close to the sun, his wings started to melt and he drowned in the ocean.
The fall of Icarus is highly symbolic as it portrays the repercussions of excessive ambition. Having a dream and goal is good, however, you shouldn't attempt to reach it obsessively. Otherwise, you will meet the same fate as Icarus. The tattoo is a gentle reminder of this notion.
Minimalist Icarus Tattoo
The minimalist Icarus tattoo is a gentle piece of artwork that tends to consist of only the outline of the son of Daedalus. It works as a personal symbol of the consequences of flying too high.
Although the tattoo is dainty, you can still show off your artistic skills by focusing on the wings. The features must look like they hold the darkest of your secrets.
Most Icarus tattoos consist of Icarus being completely naked. Although modern depictions have tried to put some clothes on him, it beats the purpose. So, you should illustrate him in his natural attire.
Icarus Led Zeppelin Tattoo
Who doesn't love Led Zeppelin? Each four of the members of the band were maestros of their respective instruments and they made some of the most iconic songs to this day. The lyrics along with the beautiful and hard-hitting tempos made us rock our heads till it hurt.
There is one sign that is synonymous with the band. That is the symbol of Icarus. You can see it in their t-shirts, concerts, and even albums. However, most people don’t know that initially, it was the logo of their record label called Swan Song Record. Gradually, the logo became so associated with the band that fans all around the world started to envision the band with the logo.
So, if you consider yourself to be an avid Led Zeppelin fan then this is the perfect tattoo choice for you. The amazing figure will portray how passionate you are about their music.
Icarus Back Tattoo
As there is an abundant amount of space in the area, your back allows you to illustrate a grandiose tattoo full of textures and details. Rather than focusing on Icarus himself, this tattoo includes several other elements such as the sky above and the sea below.
When Icarus flew too close to the sun, it is believed that gods exuded a much more potent ray to melt his wings. With his wings melted, he quickly fell into the sea while his father watched him die.
The Icarus back tattoo artistically features this tragic scene. It consists of the image of Icarus slowly meeting his death. Your heart will cry every time you see the tattoo.
Icarus Sleeve Tattoo
Three things play a crucial part in the entire mythical story of Icarus. They are the wings, the sun, and Icarus himself. The Icarus sleeve tattoo features all of the components in a highly detailed manner.
Till now, none of the tattoos on the list focused much on the facial and physical attributes of Icarus. However, the sleeve tattoo heavily emphasizes the characteristics of Icarus.
He had a masculine body with clothing to hide his lower part of the body. His hair was curly with two angelic wings protruding from the shoulders. Because of this, the tattoo has often been considered to be a symbol of masculinity.
Icarus Wings Tattoo
The story of Icarus starts and ends with wings. Daedalus who was a master craftsman and his son, Icarus, was suspected by King Minos to reveal the secrets of the labyrinth Theseus which led him to flee away.
So, King Minos trapped both of them in the large tower in the middle of the sea. Daedalus handcrafted beautiful wings for him and his son out of feathers, threads, and beeswax. He instructed Icarus to be cautious.
However, Icarus paid no heed to his father which led to his downfall. The Icarus wings tattoo is thereby considered to be a symbol of high ambition and how it leads to detachment from reality.
Icarus And Daedalus Tattoo
The father and son bond is truly exceptional. No matter what the situation is, your father will always stay beside you. The Icarus and Daedalus tattoos represent this special connection between every father and son in the world.
Although Icarus didn’t follow his instructions, he still wept when he saw his son meeting the ill fate. He cursed his craftsmanship and called Icaria which was the closest land from where Icarus died. To this day, the site is known by its name. The whole scenario teaches us that no matter how much we disobey our fathers, they can never let us go.
Icarus Forearm Tattoo
Although most people consider that the Icarus wing was made of beeswax, it had a variety of different components. Both Icarus and Daedalus were trapped in a tower so they didn't have much to work with.
So, Daedalus used threads from the blanket, a bunch of feathers, and beeswax. The Icarus forearm tattoo is the only tattoo on our list that includes the feathers from the wings. The tattoo helps us brush up on our history and makes us truly understand what happened that fateful day.
Icarus And The Sun Tattoo
Although many historians argue about this, the sun god Helios played a crucial role in the downfall of Icarus. It is supposed that it was Helios who played a cruel plot.
Icarus flew too close to the sun but there was some intervention by Helios himself. Icarus was always quite stylish and he often considered himself to be better than Helios. Out of agony, Belios, the sun scattered powerful rays at Icarus which led to his death. The tattoo portrays the role of the sun in the tragic death of Icarus.
Geometric Icarus Tattoo
Till now, we mostly talked about tattoo designs that use a plethora of details and colors to make the tattoo look as beautiful as possible. However, this tattoo on our list uses simple shapes to represent the story of Icarus.
We all think that illustrating a geometric tattoo is quite easy. But it's far from the truth. Drawing complex imagery with simple shapes is far more difficult than illustrating it with intricate patterns. That’s why, the geometric Icarus tattoo has gained a name for himself.
Icarus Tattoo On Thigh
The Icarus tattoo on the thigh is quite flamboyant as it consists of grandiose color schemes and alluring patterns that highly exaggerate the story of Icarus.
The tattoo comprises all the traditional elements of the mythology such as the ocean, the sun, and Icarus himself. However, the ocean is depicted using deep curves with whimsical colors. The sun is portrayed to be scattering intense rays. Icarus himself looks more like a bird with feathers stemming from all parts of his body. This tattoo is so colorful that you have to look at it twice to fully appreciate it.
Icarus Chest Tattoo
Having a chest tattoo takes a lot of courage. As painful as they may be, chest tattoos represent your dedication and passion for a particular cause.
When you have the highly detailed Icarus tattoo on the chest, it means that you fully believe in not overstepping. You know when to stop. The intricate textures which heavily focus on the wings will always remind you not to dwell on grandiose ambitions without any experience or hard work.
Icarus And Angel Tattoo
Although Icarus doesn't have much association with any angelic entities, his wings which were made by his father turned his entire appearance as spiritual and godly.
When Icarus stretched out his wings to fly, his father thought to himself that he was an angel. However, it seems that even angels make mistakes. Even with such divine wings, Icarus fell into the sea and met his death. This tattoo emphasizes Icarus’s wings and how it connects to the divine entities of the world.
Traditional Icarus Tattoo
Whenever you see tradition in a tattoo design, you can easily visualize how it's going to look. Most traditional tattoos are full of subtle colors and natural elements that soothe the soul. The same goes for the case of the Icarus tattoo.
The main focus is always on Icarus with his two angelic wings pointing to two different directions. Some green leaves are protruding from stems and some pillars symbolize the significance of the story. All in all, it's a gentle piece of imagery that encapsulates the tragedy and lessons learned from ancient mythology.
Icarus Tattoo On Hand
The Icarus tattoo on hand has a closeup of the individual who flew too close to the sky. Rather than focusing on the physical properties, this tattoo emphasizes and highly details the facial characteristics of the son of Daedalus.
Aside from his overly ambitious nature that led to his downfall, Icarus was quite a handsome man. He was a bit egoistical as well as he often compared himself to Helios, the sun god. The hand tattoo further accentuates the imagery by subtly portraying the feathers from his wings in an artistic manner.
Inspiring Meaning Behind Icarus Tattoos
Tragic stories teach us the most valuable lessons and morals. The same goes for the Icarus tattoo. The fall of the young man because of his pride and not paying attention to his father is something that we all need to learn from. Over the years, there have been countless depictions of the mythological tale. Each of them has tried to portray the story in their manner.
However, there are some apparent meanings and symbolism of the Icarus tattoo that all scholars agree with. So, we are going to look at those meanings that resonate with us on an emotional level.
Pride Is Our Downfall
Icarus was quite a beautiful young man. He had astounding physical and facial features that made him one of the most sought-after men in the era. However, the admiration for his beauty began to go into his head and he became egoistic. His pride became his downfall.
He felt too superior and compared himself with Helios. Helios got angry and shot light rays at him that caused his wings to melt. So, we learn that it's always important to not be too egoistic and prideful. We need to be humble.
How Over Ambition Kills The Soul
We already covered the story so I am not going to dwell much on it. Despite his father's instructions and warnings, Icarus flew way too close to the sun. He didn’t even have much expertise in flying nor did he have any idea about aerodynamics. He thought he could reach the sun but failed miserably.
This teaches us that having ambition is good for you but excessive ambition leads to our downfall. If you truly want to reach your goals, you need to work hard and become an expert rather than showing off.
The Metamorphosis From Youth To Adulthood
This is a much more innocuous meaning of the Icarus tattoo. Icarus was just in his youth. During this time, every individual tends to become rebellious. The same happened for Icarus and he disobeyed his father. Many scholars believe that Icarus didn’t have any bad intentions. He was just in a period where he wanted to prove himself just like every other youth stepping foot into adulthood.
FAQ
There are quite some misconceptions regarding the Icarus tattoos. Some people have tried to twist the meaning and symbolism of the tattoo.
That’s why, we have tried to answer some of the most intriguing questions that are circulating on the internet. If you still have queries, feel free to reach out.
Q: Why Is Icarus Tattoo So Important?
Ans: The Icarus tattoo is so important because it reminds us about the dangers of power. When you suddenly get strength, you tend to make some horrible mistakes which can turn your life upside down. The Icarus tattoo teaches us that with great power comes great responsibility.
Q: Can Men Get Icarus Tattoos?
Ans: Of course, they can. Icarus tattoos don’t have any genders or race. Some bigoted people frown upon men getting Icarus tattoos because they think that it is homosexual for men to get another man's image. However, they tend to forget that it takes a big man to appreciate another man’s beauty.
Conclusion
We live in a highly competitive world. Most of us think that life is a racetrack and that whoever reaches the finish line first wins the race. However, that's the complete opposite.
Through the Icarus tattoo, we come to know that obsessing over your ambitions will only make you more miserable. Ego and hubris will make you even hate yourself. You will find yourself to be in a place where there is no turning back. The Icarus tattoo reminds us to let loose for once, rather than chasing blindly for our dreams.